SWA upgrades

[jball2]

Aubie, a little off topic, but were you THE Aubie? I heard we had an AUBIE here.

Jball2 AU '97
WAAAAAARRRRR EAGLE!

 

[PreContact]

As far as the 737, that is true about deliveries ending around 2014. We have been told by mgmt that we will be converting to the narrow-body version of the 787.

So are you going to have Boeing disconnect the auothrottles on them as well?

 

[Old School]

dude you didnt hear, SWA is turning on the autothrottles by July to save fuel. The upkeep has been overshadowed by the cost savings of using them.

 

[hockeypilot44]

The real title to this thread should be:

The Bad News is You May Not Upgrade at SWA for Ten Years, But the Good News is You Will Make More in Ten Years Than Most Other Airlines' Captains

We'll see. That's the way USair used to be. Look at that place now. Ten years ago Southwest was the lowest paid airline in the industry. SWA has pretty good management, but that can change in the 30+ years that most newhires have left in their careers. Any airline job is a gamble. SWA is not exempt from that rule. The sad thing is that Southwest's payscale only increased to cover inflation so the same scale that used to be a joke is now everyone's dream. It just shows you how far back this job (ex-profession) has fallen.

 

[bravodude]

We'll see. That's the way USair used to be. Look at that place now. Ten years ago Southwest was the lowest paid airline in the industry. SWA has pretty good management, but that can change in the 30+ years that most newhires have left in their careers. Any airline job is a gamble. SWA is not exempt from that rule. The sad thing is that Southwest's payscale only increased to cover inflation so the same scale that used to be a joke is now everyone's dream. It just shows you how far back this job (ex-profession) has fallen.

I guess 200/hr for a 737 is just to cover inflation riiiiiiiiight!

 

[bravodude]

people here are saying 10-12 yrs right now. However i think the guys that got the shaft are the ones who were getting ready to upgrade now, those are the ones that will have to wait a while. If you are hired now there is just no way to tell. (having said all that I believe the next bid for june has 33 upgrade slots available)

 

[On Your Six]

people here are saying 10-12 yrs right now. However i think the guys that got the shaft are the ones who were getting ready to upgrade now, those are the ones that will have to wait a while. If you are hired now there is just no way to tell. (having said all that I believe the next bid for june has 33 upgrade slots available)

That's what I have been hearing too. Although you need to also factor in the upcoming Age 70 rule change that senior SWA pilots will be championing as well... If that happens expect a 20 year upgrade...

 

[Tanker Clown]

That's what I have been hearing too. Although you need to also factor in the upcoming Age 70 rule change that senior SWA pilots will be championing as well... If that happens expect a 20 year upgrade...

The good news about SWA and Age 70 is that in the new contract they negotiated in Hospice care. That way, you can pretty much work until they're throwing dirt on you. Thanks again old timers!

 

[hockeypilot44]

I guess 200/hr for a 737 is just to cover inflation riiiiiiiiight!

Believe it or not, there were 737 captains at United, NWA, Delta, etc. making close to $200/hour back in 1999. Pilots are extremely short-sighted. SWA is a great place to work right now compared to the other passenger airlines, but if you think it's going to be the premier place to work for the next 30 years or even 20 years, then you're being extremely naive. Again, pilots are extremely short-sighted.

 

[FatesPawn]

I guess 200/hr for a 737 is just to cover inflation riiiiiiiiight!

The payrates for a SWA Captain in 1984 was about $8,000/month.

Go here:

http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

and check out the inflation calculator to see what $8,000 in 1984 dollars buys you in 2008 dollars.

So yes, SWA pay has only increased on a COLA basis. However, it SEEMS like much more, because it DRAGGED behind with a short lived B-scale, and a concessionary "stockoptions-in-lieu-of-pay-scheme" but the 2002 mid-contract pay adjustment brought the hourly(trip) rates back to a inflation adjusted number.

-fate